Awning structure



Jan. 30, 1951 F. w. SIMONTON 2,539,705

AWNING STRUCTURE Filed March 9, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR. FRED w SIMON TON,

ATTORNEY-S".

Jan. 30, 1951 F. w. SIMONTON AWNING STRUCTURE 2 Shets-Sheet 2 Filed March 9, 1.948

INVEN TOR. FRED W. SIMON raw,

4 7' TUE/V5 Y3.

Patented Jan. 30, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,539,705 AWNING STRUCTURE Fred W. Sim'ontori, Pennsboro, W. Va.,

Application March 9, 1948, Serial No. 13,811

3 Claims;

v This invention relates to a special reinforced sheet metal awning, and particularly to a rigid built-up awning made of interlocked channel members and both reinforced and secured to a wall structure by further special channel members.

The main object of the invention is to provide asheet metal awning of the character indicated which is wholly made up of sheet metal in such built-up channel form and in such interlocked relations that it is particularly well reinforced as an ensemble.

Another object is to have such an awning which is light despite the fact that it is of metal and of reinforced construction. 7

A further object is to provide such a sheet metal awning with lower projecting supporting rods forming braces further reinforcing the awning.

It is also an object to make such a metal awn ing of groups of duplicate sheet metal parts or channels all attached to a special transverse channel member anchored directly to a wall or the like, and likewise provided with side channel members terminating and reinforcing the awning at the sides thereof.

An ancillary object is to produce an easily con-- structed and. installed sheet metal awning which in addition will conceal certain screws and/or fasteners holding the same together and prevents accidental contact of the hand or cleaning mop therewith when cleaning the awning.

other objects and advantages will appear here inafter in the description that follows.

In order to bring out the features of this invention in readily comprehensive form, the latter is illustrated on the accompanying drawings forming part hereof and in which: v

Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevation of awning embodying the invention in a practical form;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same as seen from the right in Figure l;

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken on line a 's of Figure 1; I I g I Figure 4 is a fragmentary section taken on iine 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is also a fragmentary section taken onlin' 55 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the transverse anchorin Channelinember appearing at the up er ri ht in Figures 2 and 3.

Throughout the views the same reference I'm-- merals indicate the same or like parts.

In connection with shades and awnings and canopies, etc., which are used for windows of dwellings, oflices and stores, it has been q iite usual to make such awnings of textile malic rials and occasionally of metal. However, metal at first meant sheet iro-n or sheet steel, Which was heavy and must constantly be painted to prevent rusting which would quickly destroy the awning involved. On the other h'and more recently, lighter metals, such as aluminum its alloys, became available, making possible lighter and yet sufllciently strong construction to employ such metals in sheet form, one advantage being that painting of such awnings is unnecessary, while a proper form given the metal will also reinforce it to a very satisfactory degree, as

will now be described. H I

In the practice of the invention, a aiere n g now again to the accompanying drawings, a sheet metal awning or canopy, generally indicated at 1, primarily includes a roof, formed of tWogroups of elongated panels 8, 8, 9, 9 which are virtual1 channel members placed alternately side by de' and disposed at an angle of substantially with the horizontal, as shown in Figures Z' and 3. The forward or outer lower ends of these panels 9 are bent down to terminate as pendent end panels l0 and l l and together form an outer ma ginal fringe for the roof, but individually con -i stitute continuations of panels 8 angle. As shown in detail in Figure 4, panel 8 has opposite dbwn wardly-bent sides or flanges l2, l2 further bent inwardly upward to form inner flanges It; l3' fi tting against the inner sides of upwardly-pro jecting flanges l4, Mof the respectively adjacent flanges bent upwardly from panels 9, 9, and from the flanges M, M are bent additional flanges l5, l5 hooked between flanges i2 and ld at either side of each panel to thereby form the roof; The pendent front panels l0 and II have cor sponding flanges l3, l4, etc., which similarry interlock at both sides of each panel, as already illustrated and described in connection with interlocking flanges I3, I 2 and I5, there being a general interior gap H6 between the latter flanges of main panels l6 and H on the one hand and w the flanges I3, Hi of the front panels llhand ll to allow fOr the angular bends I"! and mat the forward meeting points of the main and ijront' panels. The outer flanges l2 overlap at theirouter ends the upper ends of flanges l2, as may be" The Width of the awning is naturally deter{ mined by the number of panels used, and thus making a wide awning merely means assembling more alternate panels than in a narrow awning, It should be stated that the width of the awning brackets.

and number of panels included is preferably so selected that an upper main panel 8 forms the I two extreme panels in the series for a reason which will be immediately explained. As detailed in Figure 5, at the outer side of outermost panel 8, the flanges I2 and i3 are interlocked with corresponding flange I9 of a side panel 23 having a longitudinal channel portion 2] and additionally secured to panel 8 by an interiorly-located bracing strap 22 having its upper angular portion 23 secured thereto by screw 24 and its lower end portion secured to side panel 20 by a screw 25. The lower edge of side panel 29 is bent double at 26 to reinforce the same, while the reinforcing strap 22 has the intermediate portion 2! thereof bulged outwardly to conform to the shape of channel 2| of the mentioned side panel. This construction is obviously duplicated in reverse at the opposite side of the awning.

In order to attach the awning thus far described to the wall of a building and properly support it in position, even during violent storms when burdened with snow and ice, at least two horizontally-projecting brace bars 23 (one shown in Figures 2 and 3) are provided with a wall plate 29 secured to the wall 40 by screws 35, 33. The outer end 3| of each brace bar is threaded and has a rod clamp 32 locked thereon between a pair of nuts 33, 83, the clamps on both brace bars supporting a horizontally-disposed front brace rod 34 extending substantially the whole width of the awning beneath the main panels 8 and 9 thereof and terminating short of the side panels 20. If the awning is very wide, three or more brace bars 28 may be equidistantly spaced apart beneath the awning to support brace rod 34, the latter being lengthened accordingly. In each case, the brace rod 34 has two or more wide clamp straps 35 enveloping this rod and provided with two hook flanges 35, 36 engaging with inner flanges 31, 31 of an apertured anchoring bracket 33 secured to panels 9 by means of a pair of screws 39 (one shown in Figure 3) which enter between the two sets of flanges and wedge between them to anchor these panels 9 to brace rod 34 which are provided with these anchoring In fact, if desired, each panel 9 may be thus attached to brace rod 34.

The awning is also more directly secured to the wall 413 aside from the general support of the outer end thereof derived from brace bars 28, the upper higher end of the side panels 28 and the flanges of panels a and 9 terminating at an angle parallel to wall 53. These upper ends of panels 8 and 9 are enveloped by a transverse horizontal supporting bracket generally indicated at H which is embracingly secured to one end of the roof, the bracket comprising, the top panel 22 and lower parallel panel 43 thereof making intimate contact with and being secured to main panels 8 and 9 by screws 44 and 45, respectively, which engage in holes 46, 4! in panels 42 and '53, as best seen in Figures 3 and 6. Upper panel 42 is provided with a reinforced upwardly-projecting flang 48 serving to stiffen the supporting bracket.

Rigidly interconnecting panels 42 and 53 is an intermediate wall panel 49 adapted to be secured directly to wall 2G by screws 56 (one shown) and in order to further support the bracket against the wall, from the lower edge of panel 43 isa sharply bent bottom panel or leg 51 directed toward the wall and terminating in an upwardlydirected supporting flange 52 hearing directly against this wall and concealed b panel or le 5! when the awning is in place. This flange, taken together with wall panel 49 with which it is aligned, forms with this wall panel a broad base for the awning to bear against the wall. It will be noted that panel 33 cuts off accidental contact of the hand or a mop with the inner ends of screws 44 by which supporting bracket 4| is secured to panels 8, and in the same fashion the bottom panel or leg 5| serves to conceal and prevent accidental contact of the hand with the inner ends of screws 2-5 securing panels 9 to the lower panel 43.

For manufacturing the above-described awning, light metals, such as aluminum and its alloys, are preferred, although rods or bars 28 and 34 may be of steel or the like, if desire-d, but for the awning panels, plastic may also be used. In any case, the awning may be assembled at the site after duly ascertaining its intended width, and the upper supporting bracket is cut to the corresponding width and assembled with the rest of the awning and with the latter raised into position and then secured in place by screws 50. As the lower panels 53 and 55 of the supporting bracket ll project forwardly into the channel portions 2! of the side panels 28, as especially shown in broken lines in Figure 2, they are effectively concealed by these side panels and initially locate the awning with respect to the mentioned bracket ll. The brace rods 28 are also fixed in place and secured to the awning and the latter is then completely installed.

For the purpose of the invention, the lower panels 8 with their side walls I4 may be termed upwardly-facing channels, While the upper panels 3 with their side walls l2 may, on the same basis, be termed downwardly-facing channels, the direction in which the interior of the channel faces being in each case taken as the criterion. The Width of the panels and the proportional height of the side walls integral therewith may, of course, be varied as may be found best in practice.

Manifestly, other variations may be resorted to and parts and features may be modified or used without others within the scope of the appended claims.

Having now fully described my invention, I claim:

1. In an awning structure, a roof, a transversely disposed supporting bracket adapted to be attached to a wall surface facing one end of said roof and embracingly secured to said one end of said roof, a horizontally disposed leg projecting from said bracket below its point of attachment to said wall surface and adapted to bear against said wall surface, a transversely disposed anchoring bracket arranged underneath said roof adjacent the other end thereof and dependingly supported from said roof, at least two horizontally disposed brace bars positioned in spaced relation between the sides of and below said roof and having one of their ends provided with means for securement to said wall surface, a clamp positioned on each of said brace bars adjacent the other end thereof and secured thereto, a horizontally disposed brace rod arranged transversely of said roof adjacent the other end thereof and supported in said clamps, and means encircling said brace rod and operatively connected to said anchoring bracket.

2. In an awning structure, a roof comprising a plurality of plates arranged in side by side relation and interlockingly secured together along their abutting sides, a transversely disposed supporting bracket adapted to be attached to a wall surface facing one end of said roof and embracingly secured to said one end of said roof, a horizontally disposed leg projecting from said bracket below its point of attachment to said wall surface and adapted to bear against said wall surface, a transversely disposed anchoring bracket arranged underneath said roof adjacent the other end thereof and dependingly supported from said roof, at least two horizontally disposed brace bars positioned in spaced relation between the sides of and below said roof and having one of their ends provided with means for securement to said wall surface, a clamp positioned on each of said brace bars adjacent the other end thereof and secured thereto, a horizontally disposed brace rod arranged transversely of said roof adjacent the other end thereof and supported in said clamps, and means encircling said brace rod and operatively connected to said anchoring bracket. 7

3. In an awning structure, a roof comprising a plurality of plates arranged in side by side relation and interlockingly secured together along their abutting sides, a transversely disposed supporting bracket adapted to be attached to a wall surface facing one end of said roof and embracingly secured to said one end of said roof, a horizontally disposed leg projecting from said bracket below its point of attachment to said wall surface and adapted to bear against said wall surface, a transversely disposed anchoring bracket arranged underneath said roof adjacent the other end thereof and dependingly supported from said roof, at least two horizontally disposed brace bars positioned in spaced relation between the sides of and below said roof and having one of their ends provided with means for securement to said wall surface, a clamp positioned on each of said brace bars adjacent the other end thereof and threadedly secured thereto, a horizontally disposed brace rod arranged transversely of said roof adjacent the other end thereof and supported in said clamps, and at least two separate straps encircling said brace rod and connected to said anchoring bracket.

FRED W. SIMONTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 143,152 Hayes Sept. 23, 1873 394,120 Knoblanch Dec. 4, 1888 738,694 Morris Sept. 8, 1903 1,524,237 Grammas Jan. 27, 1925 1,901,976 Martin Mar. 21, 1933 1,902,879 Miller Mar. 28, 1933 2,251,572 Kuhn et al Aug. 5, 1941 2,256,941 Crawford 1;, Sept. 23, 1941 

